By Steve Weatherbe

EIGHT  candidates for Christian ministry have finished their first training session in a remote region in Mozambique thanks to the efforts of a Vancouver Island Lutheran congregation.

The 32-module extension course comes from the Lutheran Church of Brazil, and the first instructor, Rev. Carlos  Winterle, comes from Kenya, but the $2,000 in living expenses for the students and instructor while in-country comes from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Langford, just west of Victoria.

The course is the latest fruit of the 12-year-old Kapasseni Project, a collaboration between Redeemer, Victoria's Getting Higher Community Choir and two former parishioners, Rev. Joseph and Perpetua Alfazema, who had fled Mozambique during its civil war.

“There’s very old people and very young people but no teachers or elders left alive,” said Carole Kerr, chair of the project.

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“The tribal structure was destroyed and the people have been scattered. Providing home-grown pastors to start local churches will help rebuild communities as well as bring the gospel,” she added.

“At first, Joseph asked us to find him pastors, but we wondered about the language barrier and came up with the idea of training local people,” said Kerr.

Organizations such as Canadian Lutheran World Relief, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and the Lutheran World Federation have been strong supporters.

The project has raised more than $200,000 for the people in and around the village of Kapasseni, largely from benefit concerts put on by the choir and performers such as Ann Mortifee.

It has paid for a five-room school, a breakfast program, two wells, a health centre, eye care, HIV/AIDS education, a food orchard, a corn grinding mill – all of which have helped foster a healthy local economy.

October 2010